My birthday was last week. It was on a Thursday, so it meant that I had to go to work that day. I get to work and walk into our office and there on the desk sat a little cake with a birthday card on top of it. I had no idea of who put it there, or when it was put there. Later on during the day, I found out it was a female co-worker that had brought it in. She told me that she just wanted to show her appreciation for me being encouraging and supporting her while she was driving a forklift.
The front of the card reads "I'm pretty sure You invented the whole idea of small acts of kindness." The inside of the card reads "You bring happiness with you and go out of your way to be there when people need you. Especially me." You're the Best. Wow, pretty nice, right! The she wrote, "Thanks a bunch for everything and just being you. Best wishes." "Happy Birthday" This card really touched me, let me tell you.
I'll tell you why.
This co-worker friend lives a lesbian lifestyle. I don't treat her any differently because of this. I treat her just the same as everyone else I work with. I show her the love of Christ in the way that I support her and encourage her. She knows that I am a pastor. She has come to me for prayer for her and her family. She comes to me with questions about Christianity and the Gospel. I live out my faith and salvation while on the job and everywhere I go. You never know who is watching you. She knows that she can come to me with questions, or encouragement. I will always tell her the truth in whatever she asks me, and she knows that.
So anytime I hear that we Christians hate gay people, I will point to this card and say that is a lie! Would she give me that card and a cake if I showed any kind of hate towards her. If I treated her any differently than the rest of my co-workers, she would've noticed.
Anytime that I hear that Pastors are only condeming gays to hell, I'll point to this card and say that is a lie also. It's not my job to judge her, it's God's. I just do my best to show her the love of Jesus and live the life that He wants me to live. Live by example. Do I dis-approve of her lifestyle, yes! Do I hate her as a person and friend, NO!! God hates no one. He is love. Jesus is love! He tells us to love everyone. So I am trying my best to show that at work, and beyond!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Praising & Thankful
We use LP gas to heat our house. We also use it for hot water, cooking, etc. About the middle of February there was an article in the local news paper about there being a LP shortage, and the prices would be well over $5.00 a gallon. AWESOME!! You see, when we get a fill for our tank, the charge for the fill comes all at one time. So we were going to be looking at a good chunk of change for our next fill up.
A few days later, there comes a letter in the mail from our LP provider. It says that because of the shortage, we are supposed to let them know when we are at 15% of our tank to ensure a timely fill. I go out the next morning and look at our gage and we are at 30%. Cool I thought. We have a little while before we need a fill up.
A couple of weeks later I go out and check it again, just out curiosity. Our needle was well below the empty mark. It meant that we didn't have any gas in our tank. I started freaking out, with especially how cold it has been. We called our delivery guy and he said he could get out that day! Thank You Jesus. Well, I came home from work and found a note stuck in our garage door. It said that he couldn't do the fill because our gate was frozen shut. He could not open it to get in. Great I thought. We were able to keep the house warm, cook and take showers, so I was praising Jesus. But with this news of having to go another day without, I thought for sure we were done for. So we prayed that we would last another day. God heard our prayers and delivered on them. The guy came the next day and was able to fill our tank. Thank You Jesus!
So now comes my praise and thanks to Jesus! Our needle was well below empty like I said before. With the news of there being a shortage and all, we were able to get a delivery the very next day of calling. Thank You Jesus. The driver was able to get in the gate and here is the biggest thing. The price per gallon.... was under $3.00. Hallelujah!! So our bill was very large to say the least, but not as large as I had anticipated!
This reminded me of the Bible story (I am paraphrasing) about the woman and her son who were out of oil and flour, they had just a little bit left, they were going to cook what was left and then prepare to die. Elijah came along and told her to keep on cooking, and they never ran out. God kept on giving them all that they needed. Just like us. Our gas tank was empty and we shouldn't have had heat, cooking gas or warm water for showers. But we did. Thanking and praising Jesus! He is our great provider! He is all that we need. THANK YOU JESUS!!
A few days later, there comes a letter in the mail from our LP provider. It says that because of the shortage, we are supposed to let them know when we are at 15% of our tank to ensure a timely fill. I go out the next morning and look at our gage and we are at 30%. Cool I thought. We have a little while before we need a fill up.
A couple of weeks later I go out and check it again, just out curiosity. Our needle was well below the empty mark. It meant that we didn't have any gas in our tank. I started freaking out, with especially how cold it has been. We called our delivery guy and he said he could get out that day! Thank You Jesus. Well, I came home from work and found a note stuck in our garage door. It said that he couldn't do the fill because our gate was frozen shut. He could not open it to get in. Great I thought. We were able to keep the house warm, cook and take showers, so I was praising Jesus. But with this news of having to go another day without, I thought for sure we were done for. So we prayed that we would last another day. God heard our prayers and delivered on them. The guy came the next day and was able to fill our tank. Thank You Jesus!
So now comes my praise and thanks to Jesus! Our needle was well below empty like I said before. With the news of there being a shortage and all, we were able to get a delivery the very next day of calling. Thank You Jesus. The driver was able to get in the gate and here is the biggest thing. The price per gallon.... was under $3.00. Hallelujah!! So our bill was very large to say the least, but not as large as I had anticipated!
This reminded me of the Bible story (I am paraphrasing) about the woman and her son who were out of oil and flour, they had just a little bit left, they were going to cook what was left and then prepare to die. Elijah came along and told her to keep on cooking, and they never ran out. God kept on giving them all that they needed. Just like us. Our gas tank was empty and we shouldn't have had heat, cooking gas or warm water for showers. But we did. Thanking and praising Jesus! He is our great provider! He is all that we need. THANK YOU JESUS!!
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